Chapter 10: Religion

"Religion is presented here as a phenomenon found in all cultures and all periods of time." (Janaro and Altshuler, 2017)

While this is true, I believe that the purpose of religion has evolved over time. When religion first began, it was more of a way to interpret the world around us. Old religions' purpose was to explain the unexplained, such as natural disasters or illness.

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“Early religions practiced polytheism.” (Janaro and Altshuler, 2017)

Early religions such as Roman or Greek mythology had many gods and goddesses, who had different roles and all interacted with each other. These deities inspired many stories about them, which explained happenings of the time and taught lessons.

(Category:Greek deities | Myths and Folklore Wiki | Fandom)

“the true 'crime' that condemned [Socrates] to imprisonment and execution was that he taught his young followers to think for themselves, a goal that makes governments uneasy” (Janaro and Altshuler, 2017)

Back in Socrates time, most governments were in place to control their population and rule over them rather than govern them with consent. They relied on the obedience of the populace to maintain control, and suppressed individuality as much as possible. When Socrates taught his students how to think critically, this was seen as a threat to the stability of the control they had over them.

(Dictator, 1796 Drawing by Jacques Grasset de Saint-Sauveur (fineartamerica.com))

Sources

Janaro, R. P., & Altshuler, T. C. (2017).The Art of Being Human: the Humanities as a Technique for Living, 11th edition. Pearson Education, Inc.

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Fandom

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